Mysterious Gardens of Asia Performers

Harp (Zane Mallett)
Applauded by audiences for his “elegantly nuanced playing”, Texas native Zane Mallett is currently pursuing his graduate studies in harp performance at the Shepherd School of Music with a full-tuition scholarship. Zane studies with Paula Page, former principal harpist of the Houston Symphony. Previously, he studied with Naoko Nakamura, principal harpist of the Dallas Winds. Zane was a recent prizewinner in the Ruth Barr competition, April 2022. A finalist of the SMU Meadows Concerto Competition in Dallas, Zane has been a featured performer at the Round Top Music Festival, Pierre Monteux School, and Eastern Music Festival. In the summer of 2018, he was named a Bernard Osher Instrumental Scholar. He has performed in masterclasses for harpists such as Judy Loman, Emily Levin, Megan Conley, and Sasha Boldachev. Zane currently is a freelance musician and private teacher in Houston. He is teacher-certified in the state of Texas and holds a Bachelor of Music in Education and Harp Performance from Southern Methodist University.
Harp (Lily Primus)
Houston-based harpist Lily Primus is the 2021 winner of the Mildred Milligan Scholarship Competition, and attended the Round Top Festival in 2022. She most recently has been a finalist in the Lyon and Healy Awards (2022) and received Honorable Mention in the Houston Tuesday Musical Club Ruth Burr Instrumental Competition (2022). She is a three-time prize winner of the American Harp Society National Competition (2015, 2017, and 2019) and 2020 winner of the Denver Young Artists Orchestra Concerto Competition. A rising classical music talent, Ms. Primus has attended the prestigious Young Artists Harp Program at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, along with the Young Artist’s Harp Seminar, as inaugural recipient of the Siochi Scholarship. Lily has been a frequent performer with the Colorado Chamber Players and has also performed for Colorado Public Radio. She has served as principal harp for the Denver Young Artists Orchestra, the Colorado All-State Orchestra and Western States Honor Orchestra, and the Shepherd School of Music Symphony and Chamber Orchestras. “She already demonstrates a mature sense of artistry,” says music critic Betsy Schwarm of TheScen3. Currently she attends the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, where she studies with esteemed harpist Paula Page.
Harp (Sophie Kim)
Sophie Kim is a junior at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University and an aspiring professional harpist. She began her harp studies at the age of eight under April Vega, then studied under Monika Vasey Rhodes. She joined the Maryland Classic Youth Orchestra (MCYO) Harp Ensemble in 2012 and was a member of the MCYO Philharmonic from 2016-20. In 2013, she placed first at the Mid-Atlantic Harp Festival Competition, and in 2017 and 2018, she placed third and second respectively at the Kentlands Young Artist Award Competition. From 2017 to 2020, she was a National Symphony Orchestra Youth Fellow and participated in many side-by-side rehearsals with the NSO. Over the years, she attended many summer programs, including the Young Artist’s Harp Seminar, the Greenspring Summer Music Institutes UK Tour and East Coast Tour, and the Brevard Music Center Summer Institute and Festival. She has studied under and performed in many masterclasses with prestigious artists, such as Nancy Allen, Edmar Castaneda, Isabelle Moretti, Adriana Horne, Allegra Lilly, and Bridget Kibbey. She currently studies under Paula Page, and attended the Round Top Festival in 2022.
Harp (Kelsey Sham)
Harpist Kelsey Sham recently completed her graduate studies at Rice University and holds a Bachelor of Harp Performance at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where she also completed a degree in music history. A dedicated orchestral musician, Ms. Sham has performed with ensembles across the United States, and is the Secretary for the Greater Houston Chapter of the American Harp Society. She manages a private studio, serves as a Brown Scholar in Rice University’s Preparatory Program, and holds a Young Artist position with Da Camera of Houston. A passionate advocate for arts education, she has partnered with various organizations to promote the fine arts to underserved communities and schools and was named a semi-finalist in the 2019 J. William Fulbright grant for her proposal on interdisciplinary performance and classical harp. Most recently, she joined ROCO, the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, as Access and Audience Experience Manager. Ms. Sham works as a harp clinician throughout the Fort Bend ISD area. In her spare time, she works with Traktivist, an online platform that supports the voices of Asian-American musicians, and conducts research with the Houston Asian American Archive on the Asian American Diaspora in the United States.